Healthy Choices Smashed By Voices

Cravings are like eyeballs- we all have them. Some of us feel cravings and the ability to curb them more or less strongly than others, but somewhere, deep within the cavernous depths of our souls, these cravings rumble and brew, and stand on the ready to attack. Personally, my cravings are limited to salty snacks and an overabundance of pasta and pizza (plus the occasional General Tso’s chicken). But, as my life is a series of what I like to call ‘balance’, I satiate my cheat days by waiting for/choosing the exact dish of my dreams, and not just filling the ‘cheat day’ day with food of a high caloric value. More importantly, I recommend truncating the concept of “cheat day” to “cheat meal”.

Homemade bolognese – heaven!

With my pregnancy in full-force- I am almost halfway through- I’ve gained around 10-15 pounds, and have been simply unable to control the voices in my head, and the little one in my tummy, that clearly want a side portion of gummy candy with their salad and veggie sushi for dinner. A person with more willpower than an army general, I have let my hair down and accepted that pushing my hand away from my face with my other hand will not stop the rumbling inside of me for whatever is being desired.

And this concept, listed ↑, is simply why I am anti-dieting.

Adhering to a healthy lifestyle and being in tip-top shape are sizeable portions (I had to pun once today!) of what fill my daily thoughts. But I am also reasonable enough to understand that if we find ourselves on a road trip, and the only option is fast food, or if we have joined a new office that orders wine and Chinese take away on Friday’s, we must roll with the punches and quietly make consignments to our otherwise healthy or normal choices. I believe that the problem with dieting is that we set a mental i-calendar in our brains, one that is set to sound to off if and when we reach our goals. We go back to waffles and bacon every Saturday morning at brunch with our girlfriends, until we must go back on the diet train and rid ourselves of the waffle waist yet again. But, if we as humans accepted the way that is a healthy lifestyle, small setbacks and a few cheat meals wouldn’t affect us that strongly, if at all.

Asian undressed slaw, by the barrelLighter poke bowl. Cover in soy or add more carbs for a more ‘cheat-meal’ poke.TOMATOES > YOU

There was a metabolic study done recently that showed that if we adhere to a way of healthy eating, one that works specifically with OUR INDIVIDUAL blood types or general metabolisms as individuals, cheat meals may actually boost our metabolisms and our abilities to expel waste, creating a leaner waist and revving up the body to combat any lulls that may present from normal, banal or repetitive eating. If we understand that we must do our absolute best to respect a healthy way of life and eat what works with our bodies as individuals, even during pregnancy (or tough times in general) then our once-a-day cheat snacks will be long gone after pregnancy when our cravings subside and our strong mindsets return, or just reclaim the throne; they never really left, they just took a temporary hiatus and will proudly claim their victory in full-force, in no time.